Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-01-17

so called by me because Its commander
came out of the east, the star OF the East
badge Of His authority.
But vast multitude do not take regH-
lar passage Their theology is broken in
pieces, and their life is broken in pieces,
and their habits are broken in pieces, and
their worldly and spiritual prospects are
broken in pieces, and yet l believe they
are going to reach the shining shore, and
| am encouraged by the experience of
those people who are spoken OF in the
text: "Some on broken pieces OF the
ship"
One object in this sermon IS TO encour-
age all those who cannot take the whole
system Of religion as We believe it, but
who really believe something, to come
ashore on that one plank. l do not IN
derIate the value of great theological
system, but where in all the Bible is there
anything that says: Believe In John
Calvin and thou shalt be saved; CT believe
in Arminius and thou shalt be saved; or
believe in the Synod of bort and thou
shalt be saved or believe in the Thirty
nine Articles and thou shalt be saved?
A man may be orthodox and
GO TO HE'LL,
or heterodox and go to heaven. The man
VINO in the deep affection of his heart &C.
cepts Christ is saved, and the man who
does not accept Him is lost.
l believe in both the Heidelberg and
Westminster catechisms, and l wish you
all did, but you may believe in nothing
they contain except the one idea that
Christ came to save sinners, and that you
are one of them, and you are instantly
rescued. If you can come in on the
grand old ship, would rather have you
get aboard, but if you can find only
piece of wood as long as the human body,
or Il piece as wide as the outspread human
arms, and either of them is piece of the
cross, come in on that piece. Tens of
thousands of people are to-day kept out
OF the Kingdom of God because they can
not believe everything.
| am talking with man thoughtful
about his soul who has lately Travelled
through New England and passed the
night at AndOver. lie says TO me: al
cannot believe that in this life the destiny
is irrevocably fixed; | think there will be
another opportunity of repentance after
death" | say 10 him: 'My brother,
what has that to do with you? Don't you
realize that the man who waits for an
other chance after death when he has q
good chance before death is a stark fool?
Had not you better take the plank that is
thrown to you now and head for shore
rather than wait for plank that may by
Invisible hands be thrown to you after
you are dead? Do as you please, but as
fOr myself, with pardon for ell my sins Of
feIed me now and all the Joys of time and
eternity offered me now, | instantly take
them rather than run the risk Of such
other chance as wise men think
THEY CAN PEEL OFF
or twist out Of Scripture passage that
has for all the Christian centuries been
Interpreted another way
You say: 81 do not like Princeton the
ology, or New Haven theology, or Ando-
yer theology l do not ask you on board
either of these great men-of-war, their
port holes filed with the great siege
guns of ecclesiastical battle. But | do
ask you to take the one plank of the Cos
pei that you do believe in and strike out
for the pearl-strung beach of Heaven.
Says some oth:r man: 81 would at
tend to religion If was quite sure about
the doctrine OF election and free agency,
but that mikes me all up" Those things
used to bother me, but l have no more
perplexity about them, for l say 10 my
self; "If love Christ and live q good,
honest, useful life, l am elected to be
saved; and if do not love Christ and
live bad life, will be damned, and all
the theological semnsries of the universe
cannot make it any d fferent." l found
cred long time while in the sea OF sill and
doubt, and it was as rough as the Med
iterrdnean on the fourteenth night when
they threw the grain overheard, but
saw there was mercy for sinner, and
that plank took, and have been warm
ing myself by the bright fire on the shore
for three decades.
While 1 an talking to another man
about his soul he tells me: 81 do not be-
come Christian because do not believe
there is any hell at all" All! don't you?
Do all the people, of all beliefs and no
belief at all, of good morals and bad
morals, go straight to happy Heaven?
Do the holy and the debaucned have the
same destination? At midnight in hall
way the owner of house and burglar
meet each other, and they both fire, and
both are wound, d, but the burglar died
in five minutes and the owner Of the
house lives week after, will the burglar
be at
THE GATE OF HEAVEN
waiting when the HORSEPOWER comes in?
Will the debauchee and the libertine go
right in among the families of Heaven?
| wonder if Herod is playing on the banks
of the River of Life with the children
he ma,sacred. l wonder If Charles
Guiteau and John Wilkes Booth are up
there shooting at mark. l do not now
controvert it, although l must say that
for such miserable heaven l have no adj
miration. But the Bible does not say:
"Believe in perditioniand be saved" Be-
cause all are saved, according to your
theory, that ought not TO keep you from
loving and serving Christ. Do mot refuse
to come ashore because all the others &C.
cordlng to your thl ory, are going to ge:
ashore. You may have different theory
about chemistry, about astronomy, about
the atmosphere, from that which Gothers
adopt, but YOU are not therefore hindrrs d
from action. Because your theory of
light is different from others, do not re-
fuse to open your eyes. Because your
theory OF air is different you do not re-
fuse to breathe. Because your theory
about the stellar system is different. you
DO not refuse to acknowledge the North
star. Why should the fact that your the
illogical theories ale different, hinder you